Alys and Simon, the untold story
by arbradley
Summary: What happened between Simon being in the hospital and that moment where Miles finally realized that Simon and Alys had something going.


"I was joking" Miles had said.

"I was not." Alys gave him a curt nod, and cut the com.

It wasn't that she was truly thinking of sabotaging the emperor's forthcoming nuptials to see the man, but it was a valid threat. To think that general would not let her, HER, in to see Simon. Who did he think he was? Didn't he know who she was? She was Lady Alys Vorpatril, the highest of the High Vor. She fumed silently. She would just have to let Miles take care of it, through means available only to him. As the Emperor's Voice, he was listened to.

This all started when she got back to Barrayar that morning. Almost the first thing she heard was that Simon was in the hospital. It was absurd that no one had thought to inform her. She was only the person working closest with the man during this whole wedding preparation. Honestly, men! Some days she did not believe they could function at all without being told what to do.

Miles took a long time to work his magic, but finally the call from General Haroche came. He apologized, and he admitted he was wrong. It was all proper form, and Alys could just see Miles hovering in the background. But none of that mattered. She was finally going to see Simon, and find out for herself what was going on. She needed him up and around for the wedding, as he was integral to her network of plans. But the little information she had was not good, and now Lady Alys Vorpatril would find out for herself what was happening.

It took almost superhuman effort to be ready in a mere fifteen minutes, but ready she was, and resolute to see the man. She never really paused to consider whether her concern for his well being was merely that of a colleague or if there was something else to it. They had worked so closely together, for so long. As long as she could remember really, ever since Ivan's birth. The man had a knack for understanding the workings of the Vor world while not being part of it that was practically impossible to find in anyone else. A truly reliable man.

If waiting to get to see Simon was unpleasant, seeing him in the state he was in was almost painful. The man with the perfect memory, with infinite presence and composure was reduced to a confused and stumbling mess. At least he recognized who she was. Though, apparently, not when she was. Alys looked at Miles in anguish, as Simon offered apologies for the 30-year-old death of her husband. Yet she did not hesitate to take Miles' chair at Simon's bedside. Miles looked like he needed a rest, and Simon did get a bit calmer with her around. She took his hand in hers, as it seemed the right thing to do, and patiently re-oriented him as he repeated his life again and again and again in front of her eyes.

She visited as frequently as she could, his deteriorating condition tearing her up inside. It did not take long for Alys to realize that Simon was never going to fully recover from this, never going to go back to his job heading ImpSec. She silently mourned the loss of a much-valued colleague, as she watched, and almost felt, his pain. She heard his stories, stories of missions. Stories of meetings he and her had in the past. She watched as Simon was less and less present in his own head, and she realized that the respect and admiration she felt for him went beyond that. Alys noted that she seemed to care deeply about what happened to the man.

It was slightly after she came to this realization that Miles informed her that Simon was going to have some surgery, to remove the offending memory-chip in his brain. She patiently waited for the results, and when Miles nonchalantly walked into the little room she was sitting in to tell her she could see Simon now, she almost caused him to fall as she swept past him.

By the time she got to his room, Simon was awake, mostly alert, and dressed. Alys paused before the door and took a deep breath. Calm was of the utmost importance.

"Simon, so good to see you awake, and more yourself. How do you feel?" She sat down in the now familiar chair by his side, though now that he was more in control she did not take his hand.

"I am… not certain how I am really. It is all… a bit confusing presently I am afraid. And how are you, Lady Alys?" Simon's voice was a bit raspy, and his expression unsettlingly uncertain.

Alys smiled broadly. At least he knew when he was, and possibly where. She failed to contain the sigh of relief that escaped her. "I am just fine Simon. Rather pleased to see you back in possession of your mind. It… was difficult to think of you otherwise." That did not come out quite the way she intended it to, but that did not matter. She was going to say something else, but Miles' arrival interrupted her train of thoughts. She stayed longer, making sure Simon had everything he needed after Miles had gone home to rest.

Alys watched herself thinking, as if from afar, surprised by the rapid thought process. _Now that Simon is going to be better, and is no longer going to be the Chief of ImpSec, now it is possible._ She never realized on a conscious level before that this was a reservation in her mind. But now the circumstances have aligned themselves such as to remove this inconvenience. In this ever changing world, and the whirlwind of time, it was now or never, and Alys chose now. The next day while visiting Simon she decided to test the waters.

"Simon, I wanted to say again how pleased I am that you will recover. I do not wish to even contemplate Barrayar without you." The way she said it made it clear that she had in fact contemplated just such a thing.

"Then let us not think of that." His words interrupted her flow of thoughts, but it did not matter.

"I... I admire you greatly, Simon."

A thoughtful smile played on Simon's lips. He may not know what day it was, and he may not remember who said what to him when, but he knew Alys' words for what they were.

"I admire you as well, Lady Alys."

Alys was about to say something else, she was not entirely certain what, but a doctor came in yet again, to perform some sort of new test on Simon's memory. Alys nodded to Simon and left, her thought unspoken. There was now time for it later.

The time was never quite right though, as doctors, nurses, and Miles were always around. With her duties as Gregor's Baba mounting as well, Alys had less and less time to visit. She was however present when Miles came in with is new idea of setting Simon up in the guest-suite of the Vorkosigan house. It was such a splendid idea, all that peace and quiet. Not to mention privacy. Alys wholly supported the idea, and told both men so.

She had by now gotten accustomed to the nuances of Simon's face, as he tried to recall things and failed. She was almost certain he was unaware of the outward signs. Perhaps it was best that way. It did allow her to quickly steer topics away from potentially difficult ones for Simon to remember. This was how she knew, during one of her visits, that discussing Gregor's betrothal security arrangements was not the right topic. Simon obviously worried about the plans, but was unable to retain the information she was giving him about what was being done. Searching for a quick change of topic, Alys remembered that the following evening was the concert she had been planning on going to for a while now. This was indeed a perfect opportunity and she invited Simon to escort her there.

The evening went fairly well. Simon seemed to enjoy the concert, and Alys was pleased that she did not catch any of the other concert attendees making any comments on this first public appearance of the former Chief of ImpSec. She suggested a café for after the concert, and Simon, ever the agreeable gentlemen agreed.

Somewhere between the coffee and the wine, Simon placed his hand over hers, causing her to abruptly stop describing the exact color of ink to be used in Gregor's wedding invitations. "Alys" she noted that he had dropped the 'Lady' for the first time. "I feel that I am less of a menace now to my neighbors and… friends… It has allowed me to permit myself to entertain some thoughts that I had not dared entertain previously." He moved his hand.

Alys felt that she suddenly missed the pressure of his warm hand on hers.

"Let's go for a stroll, shall we Simon?" This was one discussion that she wanted to have where no one, not even the unobtrusive servitors, could hear them.

The night was cool and calm, and the little park near the café was deserted at this late hour. Simon offered her his arm, and they walked down a pathway that spiraled towards the center of the park. Several moments of silence passed.

"What thoughts have you now dared to entertain, Simon?"

Simon was quite for several long seconds. "Well, thoughts such as that it is a grand idea to escort a lady to a concert, without thinking that she would get shot by a sniper."

Alys smiled. "How fortunate for me then, isn't it?"

They had reached the central spot of the park. There was a small fountain here, surrounded by little benches, now deserted like the paths leading to them. Simon bowed Alys to one of the benches, with a small gesture inviting her to take a seat. Carefully, he sat down beside her, making sure to maintain a healthy amount of personal space. He did not want to even appear like he was presuming anything.

"I…"

Simon started to say something, but neither of them found out what it was going to be. Alys placed a finger on her lips and he stopped. A peculiar smile played on her lips under the finger. As Simon tried to work out what she smiling at, Alys leaned in and kissed him. Ever quick on the uptake, Simon kissed her back. She had meant it to be a quick, light kiss, testing the waters, gauging reaction. But the kiss lingered, lasted, developed passion. Her arms wrapped around him, possessively, as if of their own free will. When the embrace broke, they both pulled apart somewhat reluctantly. Alys still had the same peculiar smile on her lips, but now Simon thought he knew what that was about. Their hands still lingered together, the contact providing a reminder that what just happened did occur.

Slowly, a matching little smile spread form Simon's lips to his eyes. "Well, now. I never knew you cared, milady." His voice was solemn, but his eyes danced.

"Neither did I. I must say I am rather glad I found out."

"Indeed. I am told these things are best discovered before it is too late." His eyes took a slightly more serious expression. His own mortality was rather on his mind recently. "Speaking of too late, I believe it is proper for a gentleman to escort the lady back from a concert within several hours of said concert, or People Will Talk."

"Oh, people will talk either way, Simon. But yes, it is late, and you are still recovering after all." With that she took the arm he offered, and they slowly walked back to the waiting ground car, slowing their steps, both of them, as if to prolong the moment.

Alys visited frequently after that memorable concert. Only Miles taking Simon away to the country, to go fishing supposedly, interrupted the pattern. When the two return only a scarce handful of days later, she was happy to resume her visits. Once the Countess Cordelia Vorkosigan returned to the house, Alys' visits included several friendly chats with her long-time friend. Cordelia, being from Beta, was a good confidant. She realized something was going on before being told, and upon Alys confirming her suspicions, was overjoyed.

It was the not really needed pretext of bringing a book in for Cordelia to read that Alys accompanied Simon inside Vorkosigan house after a pleasant dinner at an extraordinary new restaurant in one of Vorbarr Sultana's fastest growing upscale districts. She did really have a book for Cordelia, a rather fascinating tome on Vor history, necessary reading because of preparations for Gregor's wedding. Alys dropped the book of with Pym, to be delivered to Cordelia in the morning and, after making sure he had scurried away to attend to his duties, took Simon by the arm, and lead him upstairs.


End file.
